To ease anxiety in Elocution students, I can send a full plan via email in advance of the lesson:
During my assessment lesson, this is what usually happens:
I call the client on Skype, using my computer, generally using my webcam and a microphone. I am happy to teach without visual, as long as I can hear you.
We share screens, which means you can see my desktop. Whatever documents I open up can be seen by you, live. At the end I send the documents to you via email.
You have the option to record the lesson via Skype, if you so wish.
We start with deep breathing, counting breath, breathing in and out correctly.
Next we learn how to warm up our voices using humming and saying ‘ahhhh’ gently. We think about opening our mouths really wide whenever we can.
Then we look at vowel sounds. I start with 6 long sounds, Oooh, Or, Ahhh, Ay, I and EE. We practice making the sounds together.
At this point in the lesson, if things are too much, we could stop. Practising just these things for a few days will be really good for your voice.
If you are feeling ok, we would then:
Add consonant sounds before the vowel sounds. This is quite fun and a little silly. We say things like Poo, Poor, Par, Pay, Pee, - Boo, Bor, Bar, Bay, Bee, etc.
Then we practice the vowel sounds in some words.
Then we practice the vowel sounds in some sentences.
Then we practice some tongue twisters.
This is another great place to stop if your voice is tired or you need a break. We could always do the rest of the lesson another day.
We try reading a short passage together, one that I took from a linguistic study, so it uses all the consonant and vowel sounds known.
Then we read a poem together. It’s Sea Fever by John Masefield and is beautiful, especially if you like the sea, as I do, very much.
Then there is the opening page of a novel to read. I use Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, because the description of the setting is really lovely.
During the lesson, periods of quiet contemplation can be really useful, so take as many as you need.
I have attached the lesson plan so you can see exactly what we would do, although obviously I fill in the gaps as we’re going along.
If you’re uncomfortable, you can watch / listen to me instead of talking. Listening can teach you a lot!
Let me know of any questions you have, I am happy to answer them.
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